Chapter 71 - 69: The Danqiu Immortal Family
His words fell into silence.
Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang exchanged a dismayed glance. When they heard the words "Blood Food Pill," they had, in fact, been hoping to get Weii Fei to share one.
After all, the Blood Food Pill was what had allowed Weii Fei to achieve Qi Sensing in just six months.
Even if they were wary of the repercussions and wouldn’t take it themselves, ’borrowing’ one to study was still a viable option...
However, they hadn’t expected Weii Fei to be so possessive of the Blood Food Pills, a complete departure from his usual self.
Seeing this, Wei Tu thought for a moment before stepping forward to smooth things over. "Eldest Brother, Fourth Brother, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Second Brother’s decision. While it’s true the four of us are sworn brothers, cultivating an Immortal Skill together under three sworn pacts..."
"But when we made those pacts, we were new to Cultivation, so they were inevitably a little crude."
"Those three Blood Food Pills are vital to Second Brother; they’re tied to his future breakthroughs."
"If we’re shameless enough to go and ask for one, we’ll inevitably hinder Second Brother’s Immortal Path..."
"That wouldn’t be good for us, either."
Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang were not naive men ignorant of worldly affairs. As local military officers, they were highly experienced in handling matters of profit and loss.
Thus, after hearing Wei Tu’s heartfelt words, both men nodded. Feeling ashamed of themselves, they accepted Wei Tu’s reasoning.
「An incense stick later.」
To their three pacts, the four men added a new one, this one regarding the distribution of unshareable resources of Immortal Fate, such as Elixirs.
The four agreed that from now on, if anyone found a Treasure like the Blood Food Pills, the discoverer could keep it for themselves and was not obligated to share it with the other three.
Unless the other three could offer sufficient compensation.
Soon, the fourth pact was established.
Wei Tu sighed inwardly at the sight.
Compared to the first three pacts, this fourth one was entirely about the distribution of benefits.
This was the first true crisis to threaten their unity since they had formed their alliance over a decade ago.
’It’s said that even blood brothers must settle accounts clearly, let alone sworn brothers like us... But after you start settling accounts, most people just end up fighting and making things ugly, rather than staying as close as before...’
’I’ll just have to wait and see.’
Wei Tu suppressed the stray thoughts in his mind.
Establishing this fourth pact had its drawbacks, but it had benefits as well.
By making the distribution of gains fairer, their alliance on the Immortal Path could last longer.
The Blood Food Pill,
was just a catalyst.
Next, it was Wei Tu’s turn, as the third brother, to speak of his recent progress.
"Since cultivating Thick Earth True Qi, I’ve spent my time on Refining Strength into Marrow, so I haven’t made any other progress..."
Wei Tu shook his head.
The others had anticipated this outcome and turned in unison toward Fu Zhizhou, their fourth brother, whose Martial Arts Root Bone was second only to Wei Tu’s.
At the age of twenty-six, Fu Zhizhou had already achieved Qi Sensitivity and entered the Qi Sensing Realm.
Six years had passed since then.
Furthermore, Wei Tu had shared his experience with Martial Arts True Qi with him last year...
They figured that if anyone had made the most progress in the past year, it would be Fu Zhizhou.
Moreover, unlike Wei Tu, Fu Zhizhou specialized in Inner Family True Skill. He didn’t have to ’waste’ Inner Strength on the process of Refining Strength into Marrow as Wei Tu had.
The time Fu Zhizhou spent nurturing his Inner Qi into Martial Arts True Qi should be significantly shorter than Wei Tu’s.
...
"That’s right."
"In the past six months or so, I’ve successfully nurtured my Inner Qi into Thick Earth True Qi."
Fu Zhizhou nodded. Reaching out, he placed a wine cup from the table onto his palm and circulated his Inner Power.
In an instant, a faint yellow True Qi appeared on the white porcelain cup, identical to Wei Tu’s Thick Earth True Qi.
’At this rate, Fourth Brother might reach the Innate Realm even faster than I will.’
Wei Tu was secretly astonished at the sight.
’I know my own situation best. When it came to Martial Arts Root Bone, I was far inferior to Fu Zhizhou. It wasn’t like Kou Liang and Weii Fei believed—that my martial aptitude was greater than his.’
’Although my aptitude has improved significantly over the past decade, nourished by my ’Late Bloomer’ Destiny Chart, at best I’m only on par with Kou Liang and Weii Fei. I’m nowhere near the level of Fu Zhizhou, who passed the local Military Examination at the age of eighteen.’
’Then again, nothing is certain.’
Wei Tu shook his head again.
If he just held out for another twenty years, he was guaranteed to become an Innate Realm Martial Artist.
Fu Zhizhou, on the other hand, merely had the *potential* to become an Innate Realm Martial Artist. If his luck turned sour, forget about being faster than him—he might never reach that Realm in his lifetime.
A moment later, the others collected themselves. Kou Liang and Weii Fei suppressed their envy and congratulated Fu Zhizhou, wishing him a long and prosperous Immortal Path.
"You two will have your day as well, my brothers," Fu Zhizhou said with a smile.
At his words, Kou Liang and Weii Fei reacted differently.
Kou Liang had lost the high spirits he’d shown last year. Though he no longer looked defeated, he seemed more withdrawn in comparison.
Weii Fei, however, was full of fighting spirit. Empowered by the two remaining Blood Food Pills, he was confident he would soon catch up to Fu Zhizhou.
After they finished exchanging insights on their Cultivation,
The four men took their leave one by one.
...
「Two months later, in the same year.」
Kou Liang and Weii Fei resigned from their posts to register for the Shannan Dao local Military Examination in the second year of Jiayuan.
Following Wei Tu’s precedent,
the two of them, like Wei Tu, deliberately held back in the local examination’s martial competition. They didn’t vie for the top three positions, instead taking sixth and eighth place respectively.
The following month, both men were appointed as Eighth-Grade Military Officers. With help from Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou, they were transferred to Qingfeng Prefecture City.
Kou Liang was appointed as a Military Officer, the same rank as Fu Zhizhou.
Weii Fei, on the other hand, became a Captain of the Cavalry, in charge of a cavalry troop.
Over a decade had passed. Because Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou were preoccupied with Cultivation and had little interest in fame or fortune, they had both remained stagnant in their original posts all these years.
Furthermore,
because they all now lived in the Prefecture City,
the four men’s families became close. Their wives and children visited each other often, fostering a tight bond.
...
It’s worth noting that,
perhaps because Weii Fei had found that second Immortal Skill, the four men’s bad luck seemed to be swept away. In the years that followed, good fortune came to them one after another.
The next year, Wei Tu heard a rumor about an Immortal Family and went to investigate. On the way, he happened to acquire a tattered copy of *Talisman Dao Introduction*, which described three types of Immortal Talismans.
These Immortal Talismans looked authentic, a far cry from the Ghost Talismans drawn by street-corner charlatans.
Unfortunately, because none of the four men possessed Spiritual Power, they were unable to create the Talismans. They could only set the book aside for future use.
「The fifth year.」
Fu Zhizhou heard a rumor about the Immortal Families—a legend that traces of Immortals had been found on Danqiu Mountain in Luonan Dao.
Danqiu Mountain was said to be shrouded in mist year-round, and local mountain folk who entered would find themselves trapped, only emerging days later.
Fu Zhizhou wanted to travel to Danqiu Mountain in Luonan Dao to investigate and find these traces of Immortals.
"Fourth Brother, even if the rumors of Immortals are true and we go seeking them, do you really think an Immortal would take pity on us and grant us an Immortal Technique?"
"If that were the case, Immortal Skills wouldn’t be so difficult to find in the mortal world."
When Wei Tu learned of this, he stopped Fu Zhizhou, who was preparing to depart, and tried to reason with him.